Chaos enthues.....!

What a mad mad hour in the birdroom.

To start with I opened the spangles nestbox to show my daughter a petit ulnar bird I'm very proud of to find it dead! A three week old feathered up chick with absolutely nothing wrong with it- yellowface cinnamon grey spangle so the wings looked a pastel cream and I had high hopes- but alas not as the crop was empty and it was wedged head up in the corner of the nestbox- the rest of the chicks are well fed so it is going down in the books as "one of those things"'but I'll keep an eye on the rest.

The ball hen is due to hatch in ten days with three fertile eggs out of five- but I found one on the cage floor (with bubbles inside rather than an air pocket?) and one broken in the nest box- strangely the three fertile eggs are unscathed so I removed them and placed them under a maiden feeder hen (cue nerves!) and three fertile eggs from the maiden hen are back under the ball hen.

The Sykes hen has broken up two eggs leaving just four- I'm not sure if they are fertile or addled so I'll leave them to be at the moment- I'm sure she is pining for her mate so it may be my own doing and another lesson learnt! I'm just panicking now In case she abandons them!

But on the plus side I've a couple of nests with fertile eggs and my spruce bred light green cockbird from Allwood & Bird has had his pied hen lay a first egg.

I just knew it was going too smoothly- its only the second chick I've lost out of about 60 and I shouldn't be down but it gets you sometimes- oh well- all together- bloody spangles!!!!

I don't have a very good poker face so I don't tend to tell fibs and as with my children I encourage them to read the audience before deciding if full diaclosure is a good thing- needless to say the weekend went from bad to worse on the domestic front and I feel shattered and drained- mentally exhausted and now is a lull before what I believe is a tsunami on the horizon- shame legal aid has been phased out- but I'm sure with my renowned moral compass showing the way it will all work out in the end.

Funny old turn of events in the manshed-

Twice over the last couple of days I've popped a chick back in the nest at 3 weeks and I get the feeling having seen a few feathers missing and some copulating pressure from dad on mum that we know who it is- so I've popped a chick hide in the cage rather than take dad out and I'll keep an eye on it tomorrow as he's the main feeder! I've also changed the finger draw out for a bland seed mix in case the added oils and vitamins were raising his libido too high!

On the plus side the 7 chicks with the spangles all look ok and I'll keep a couple and the rest will go down the road after weaning. I've also has a good look at the latest round of chicks from cage 2 (they will be split dilute) and 3 and I'm going to start letting chicks (especially cocks) go earlier- so I have to be ruthless and say to myself- if its worked great keep them and if it hasn't then be brave and let them go. I'm awash with yellowface grey greens so I'll be keeping sex linked and obvious hens and anything that is promising and the rest can go to the pet shop.

I'm also about to be awash with naked oats! I orders a bag for 6 weeks and nothing, mentioning disillusioned "as its so tough getting them I'll take 3 bags"At the same time I spoke to another distributor and said if you get 3 bags I'll have them! Eager to please and with an order for 6 bags for 2 clients they will be delivered on Wednesday from the wholesalers Honestly it never rains!!!

So some good news- I've some pinkies which should be the last of the current rings- I put an egg under the second fosters and it had hatched next day to their surprise (note to self to consider marking eggs in future) so i popped it back into the original parents nest only to find this morning that they hatched 2 over night!! If its not yellow or green I know where its from and that really would be a bonus!

The dilute hen has also started another round and its her 4th cockbird so with luck as they have been together for 4 days she should be fertile as she was tail up in seconds of him going in the cage but he is an older chap with a bad wing so as always its fingers crossed! The 5 chicks show a couple of keepers but some will go as I can always bring in a dilute cock if needed next year- I just want the hens to put into the lines for the odd surprise so I need at keep em all.

The hen he came from in 4 is still sitting the 4 remaining eggs but I fear I'll be throwing them in the bin by the end of next week and finding a more persistent cock in the flight.

Other than that I've a few fertile eggs around and I'm waiting for some good news at the start of December in terms of pinkies and like always I'm being tolerant of natures little ebbs and flows along the way.

Must say that I'm quite pleased with a couple of the spangles after losing the best one out of the nest and ill post more about that in a couple of weeks when they fledge and if they escape the young dads wrath.

So a very cold day today with temperatures down to 2 degrees in various places, outside the manshed it got to the heady temperature of 8 but inside it held at 13 which I'm happy with:-)

Especially as the spangles are dropping chicks out of both boxes and I have another pinkie! Actually its the feeder pair and I hope its grey, I really do!!!

I've also spotted a cockbird finally realise that the girl is game and remembering what to do after the tenth attempt of standing the wrong way around! Fingers crossed for an egg with these two in a week or so but then again I have another pair that mate all the time and I've yet to get and egg.

Mind you the spangles have been mating all the time for a few days so it must be the weather or the full moon- big believer In the power of pairing at the full moon!

Mind you I also believe in science and so I've taken them off of the probiotic after four days and now they are on good old H2O.

Other than that I have a surprise visitor tomorrow and I knocked over an empty millet box in the enterance where I store spare building materials for later- oh well I never did proclaim to be tidy!

I had an interesting day today- the car went in for the service and that's always a game of the garage trying to convince me the car needs work and me declining on the basis that it drove through the door ok and didn't kill anyone!

So after all of that I had a budgie visitor- he is a returning champion and has a very consistent stud of birds but finding that he needs to upgrade features so we spent 3 hours talking about if its better to build a big bird and then add the feather or if you work on the feather and then try and supersize the bird- the jury is still out but good budgie chat none the less.

I've also checked on the birds and again placed the spangles back in the box and I've got another hen that's laid a first egg- that means that ive only three pairs that haven't laid- one is the repairing of the star pair from last year and the other two are from hens that have been paired for a while and have swollen rear ends and attentive cock birds but no sign of an egg and no feeling of an egg so I may be returning them to the flights and having a rethink! After all it's been since September and pairs out together at the same time are About to fledge chicks!

Having said that the pair in cage three have been chickless for a couple I weeks and although busy I dearly don't feel its going to happen and tonight the hen just looked so fed up that tomorrow when I take a few chicks to the pet store I'll be splitting them up.

The ema then happens on which cock I out into the hen in cage four that's busy breaking her addled eggs- the young upstart, the agreasive old hand or something different from the flight? Decisions decisions

You know it would be easier if my birds were show cage trained!

Well today was one of those days- I decided to be hard on the birds and I the seven chicks I had to hand I decided to let five go- purely on the basis that I've bred better from one of the cocks (I did keep a hen of his from the clutch) and I kept one back from the cock that died making a half sibling for either the dilute or the original cock- assessing his chicks some have great shoulders but a little narrow in the head but I didn't see these getting any better so I made an executive decision.

I also broke up some pairs- basicly what'll manlike two internal layers and a hen that's just has enough and has gone into a pseudo internal layer type state and this can lead to a cage of riggermortise if not realty with!! I asked the question on the forum and got this answer....

And I quote....

THE INCREDIBLE FEMALE BIRD

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

by Linda Pesek DVM

The avian female reproductive tract has evolved over time into a complex structure, unique to birds. The process of forming and laying an egg is one of nature's many wonders.

Just like many other female animals, the avian female begins life with two ovaries and oviducts. However, in most species of birds, the left ovary and oviduct grow more rapidly than the right, and the right side regresses, leaving only the left ovary and oviduct. Some people believe that this is an adaptation to reduce weight, necessary to aid flight.

At hatching, the left ovary contains all of the egg cells it will ever have. These cells will continue to develop once the hen reaches an age when she is able to reproduce.

Female birds may be determinate or indeterminate egg layers. Determinate layers are those birds that only lay a set number of eggs - such as crows or budgies. Indeterminate layers - such as parrots - will quickly replace any eggs that are lost, thus not laying a set number of eggs. Breeders utilize this by removing eggs and artificially incubating them, thus encouraging more eggs to be laid.

The female reproductive tract is divided into several parts. It takes approximately 25 hours for an egg to travel from the beginning to the end. The first part of the female reproductive tract is the infundibulum. This consists of a) a funnel which captures the ovulated egg and b) a tubular region known as the chalaziferous region. Sperm fertilizes the egg in the funnel portion of the left oviduct. However, a female will lay eggs even if there has been no mating to fertilize them. The egg then passes on to the chalaziferous region. Here a layer of albumen, known as the chalaziferous layer, and the chalazia which suspend the yolk, are secreted by glands in the tubular region. The egg remains in the 1st part of the reproductive tract for 15 minutes.

The second part of the oviduct is the magnum. This is the longest and most coiled portion of the oviduct. It is very thickwalled and contains many tubular glands which secrete albumen, sodium, magnesium and calcium. The egg remains in the magnum for three hours.

The isthmus is a short portion of the oviduct. During the 75 minutes the egg remains here, the inner and outer shell membranes which line the shell are formed and calcification is initiated.

The uterus or shell gland is the place the egg remains the longest, from 20 - 26 hours. The shell of the egg is secreted here and "plumping" occurs. Plumping is the rapid addition of watery solutions to the egg, which doubles the weight of the albumen.

The final part of the female reproductive tract is the vagina. The egg passes through this portion very rapidly as it is laid.

Sperm may be stored in specialized glands known as sperm host glands which are located in the vaginal sphincter for a few days. The sperm travel up to the infundibulum to fertilize the egg.

Most psittacines (parrots) lay their eggs every two days, while passerines (finches and canaries) and chickens usually lay an egg every 24 hours during their laying cycle.

The ovary is under complex hormonal control. In birds that are seasonal egg layers, the left ovary undergoes three phases of development. During the first phase, the prenuptial acceleration, the ovary enlarges. The second phase, the culmination phase, is when ovulation and egg laying occur. The third phase is the refractory period during which the ovary regresses in size until the next time.

During the early stages or late stages of egg laying, the infundibulum may fail to catch the ovulated egg and it may enter the abdominal cavity. This is known as "Internal Laying". The egg may be absorbed or it may lead to an inflammatory process known as egg yolk peritonitis.

I have no idea where its from but its convincing....

Anyhow having broken up three pairs and the hen in four calling for some male attention its going to be a question of when, how and what I put down. The Sykes hen could have either a spruce, ball or Marchant bred cock and I'll take a couple of days to decide what I want from her in terms of what chicks could look like- really I'd like a couple of nice hens but anything from the right lines would be good.

But now breaking up these pairs I've only got one pair that isn't on eggs or chicks and they are in last chance saloon- I could even put her cockbird down with the hen in four- now their is an idea for some half brothers......

The feeders in seven have now hatched five chicks and I've no idea just yet if its whoops of delight or down the road. Having said that the spangles have four chicks on the cage floor and with luck they will enjoy the heating and start eating after the weekend, I think its early but after four days of popping them back in the nest you have to give up- with luck the 3 in the nest above will take longer!

I'm not sure about this cold spell- I'm thinking it could spell trouble for maiden hens so I'm even thinking of no putting any more down until feb!- but you know what its like when you get excited. I've a 7 month old hen froting in the flight so who knows.....

Mind you after unloading eight sacks of assorted seed today I popped over to the bosses house and dropped off a sack of naked oats to a fellow fancier- always good to share the luck and with fingers crossed, and some good will from karma, I'll get some back at some stage:-)

Right now its chaos!

So thinking ahead I took a cockbird out of one breeding cage and put him in another- yep the hen in four gets a new playmate but she is a little aggressive and so is the hen so who knows what will happen- I'll leave it a couple of days and put another cock in with the hen he came from to see what happens.

I've also had a panic or two. The feeder pair in 16 hatched a chick DIS so I took the ball eggs away and put them back under the ball hen- I also took two bigger chicks from the other feeder pair and moved them to 16 to see what happens and the feeder pair in 7 hatched another- so that's six in ther is which it was four in three days so by taking the eldest two away I hope it means one of them is fostered in?

I have no doub time will tell but yep I'm panicking again and seeing what happens and it doesn't suit !!!!

Its the silly season and it comes in waves...

Well following on from yesterday I'll make it clearer. The feeder hen in 7 is sitting on her own and some ball eggs after the cock kept smashing them up- she has hatched some chicks but I'm not sure which is which and I transferred some eggs to the other feeder pair. Both feeder pairs hatched chicks that they lost on the day and I've transferred the two biggest feeder chicks from the original feeders to the additional feeders. So, one pair has three young chicks in, one has two older chicks in and I won't know what is what until they colour up.

The new feeders eggs I moved to under the ball hen and in the panic I moved her eggs back so in theory she is now sitting on six fertile eggs of which three are hers and three are from the additional fosters-

The ball hen is grey with a sky cock from darren snell and the feeders are a grey hen with a grey spangle/Ino so typically it could be a nightmare but- and I say this purely to calm my mentors rising heckles- I did mark the eggs when I moved them!!!

When and if they hatch I will redistribute them and balance out the nests to ensure the fosters do their work.

Its almost like I have forgotten everything in a purple haze!

Talking of red mists..... Bloody spangles! Yep they are leaving the nestbox at the moment and the reliable great feeding pair had one die in the box (the best one) and today the cock scalped the next best one on the cage floor!!! I've popped the chicks in the box and taken dad out in the hope that mum will feed him tonight and I'll top him up in the morning- I find that if you step in too early with the formula they just stop calling and I need it to be business as usual.

Other than that I have a fertile egg in cage 1 - allwood&bird spruce bred cock and a pied hen. I have a fertile egg in cage 2- a Marchant grey cock and a wilson bred dilute hen from the new fishep stud. I've broken down cage 3 and cage 4 has the Sykes hen after I removed her clear eggs and I've put the allwood&bird spruce cock that bred the yellowfaced chicks in with her on the basis that he is a little agreasive and sex starved- he has to bring his own flowers and gin!

The Adams pairs in 10&11 are on 6 chicks (5 grey and 1 blue) and two eggs respectfully (allwood&bird bred)and I have a pair of H&M birds via Ricky watts in 15 that are on 5/7 fertile eggs.

That means that I've got three hens recovering from breaking pairs- two internal layers and one just needing a rest and I've got a hen that may just have been bullied by a cock that ive taken him away and ill out another in on Sunday and see what happens.

Now the interesting things happen- its all about dilemmas and ha ring spoken with Nic I've a plan for all these double factor greys (no not anything Ino) and its getting to the stage where I need to think about the next hen in these 3 spare cages and who to pair the spangle to when she finishes feeding the chicks but that will be easy as it depends on what the chicks look like- its either a pairing for colour for the pet shop or one for stock birds and they are different decisions.

And as they say- that can wait until tomorrow but a tip will be that I'm waiting until I see nature pairing up and I'll go for it and today I saw two doves doing the dance but I feel its too early at the moment and he was just being cheeky but I feel it will be a short cold spell and then all done by feb 1st as the plants re budding up in the woods!!

Well its been a busy few days as I'm coming out of early retirement! Yep the boss has decided that I need a job more than she needs to see my ugly mug around the house. So today I submitted an application and no oh boy am I out of practice- easy when your the boss doing the recruiting but the other way around is a sobering experience !

The manshed is in a state of limbo at the moment too. I have the spangles playing the game at the moment with one hen feeding three chicks (one died and one was scalped by the cock) and I'm surprised to say that although she is very tell with good feather length she hasn't passed on the frame to the kids- so that means a different cock for round two and a suspicion that she has dominant genes. The other pair of spangles are looking good and although she is the weaker bird her genes aren't so dominant and the crossover chicks look good.

I may just throw a younger cinnamon grey cock at her to see what he can do and if she will educate him in the way of the world- or be a good feeder!!

The feeders between them have five chicks which are three In the normal nest and two in the reserves! I may have a juggle around later as pinkies are due soon and I have a fresh one under the ball hen- if she hatches all three then they can be replaced with the feeder chicks- trouble is I had to put some eggs under the feeders and I may have to wait until they colour up before I know what's hatched! Even though I took some eggs out!!

So, I've some eggs that are showing promising stages of colouring up from a light green spruce bred cock (although they are a little irregular in shape and size!) and also from my existing and bought in Marchant grey cocks. The grey spangles (who's chicks I like) are on two eggs which is 23 days since she laid her first one-busy girl!

Now- we all know genetics are easy don't we? Well my pair of Adams bred greys in 9 had 7 chicks first time around which was 4 blue and 3 grey (6 hens-yippee) and this time around its 5 greys and 1 blue- seein as we can't tell single from double factor greys I'll have to find a solution for them! The pair next door (same genes and both grey) are just laying a first round and its high hopes.

So I've got three empty cages and a hen in need of some company- I took her cockbird out and he is just getting to know the Sykes hen and fingers crossed for him. The challenge now comes that I will start using my own bred hens and that's when it gets Scarey!!!

Oh well onwards and upwards- or rather in my case a leap backwards and a shift sideways!

It's been one of those days today. I'm pleased as punch that I have another pinkie and it was only a couple of hours old and I spotted it had already been fed so its fingers crossed that it comes through the night.

I managed to have a good look through the chicks under the feeders and hoping that a couple could be grey from another couple I'm a little down in the mouth to say they are collectively three Lutino's (again) and a couple of non Lutino's that have white down so they won't be greys :-(

So while its fling downhill the pair of greys in 11 are on 4 clear eggs which isn't good news. The upside Is that the new Marchant pair are on full eggs so that will be good.

I also put a fresh cockbird into the opaline grey hens cage- she is the yellowface's mum as she wasn't paying attention to the original cockbird and hiding in the box, I thought a less aggressive cockbird may be a good idea and so far it hasn't resulted in bloodshed.

I also tried a new cockbird in with the spangle- the one where the cock attacked the chicks- she is still feeding the chicks so it will be an hour here and there in anticipation of something happening. He is 8 months old and just started climbing the social ladder in the flight- I don't care what any chicks look like I would just like to know he's working !

Other than that I've still got three spare cages and I'm not panicking to fill them at the moment until the weather shows its hand....

Oh I forgot to say- the scalped chick is doing ok but one of the spangles from the blue pair is an obvious cock and not being fed- I've fed him 10ml twice but I don't think he will progress unless he gets his appetite- fingers crossed and time will tell :-)

I think it was Harry Houdini who perfected the art of diversion- you look one way and another thing happens somewhere else! If you've ever seen the film swordfish you'll know exactly what I mean!

So for the last few days I've been distracted with a lengthy application progress for a job and I'll know around mid December how it goes but its just good to start thinking in the right direction after having my gap year- which finishes in jan 14.

And that's made me reflect a little as that's when the shed started to be put up and whilst not finished and I've lots of good ideas to change it, we can become complacent. So today I had a little downtime in the manshed and reflected on the things that got me off to a good start that perhaps I don't do at the moment- I'm sure we all slip up now and again, and I found a couple of things I've changed and whilst no alarm bells were ringing I decided to get back to what we term 'best practice'.

The birds themselves are doing well- I've got a raft of hens coming through and although I'm disappointed that bought in adult hens have been 'Duffers' I'm sure it happens to the best and we just need to dust down and start again, as someone said on the forum a hen can go from a great mum and large clutches to an internal layer over night- and as my luck holds true I've had 3 of them!!!!

I also learned allot and some unusual stuff ! But more on that another time.

In terms of the birds themselves-

Its a mixed bag at the moment- I've two pairs on clear eggs at the moment and I'll be making a decision on if I foster into them and let them raise a few to sync their clocks or if I just put them into the flight in disgust, ill consort the oracle around the corner in the next few days.

I've got full eggs from pairs that contain what I like to call my fringe pairs- where I've a bird from the main line left over or where I have a key hen that I want half sisters or brothers to. One of these is rat bird and her first batch of half siblings weren't what I was looking for- so I've kept one jut in case and I've hanged the cock and fingers crossed they are full for this round.

I've also broken up the parents of the exceptional yellowfaced chicks I bred earlier as after 8 weleks the hen was just hiding in the box in fear of a sex mad cockbird. So thinking that its better to have some relatives I've chosen a hen that had a clear first round and I've put him in with her as the original co I was a little intimidated and she has started a new round today- the original cockbird is on 6 fertile eggs with another more compliant hen so fingers crossed.

The mum of the yellowfaced chicks seems happier as I've taken a greygreen cockbird out of the flight and as he is the same colour as her original mate that died it might encourage her a little to do the right thing, time will tell.

Mind you I've also been trying a cock with the spangle hen (single mum after dad scalped the chicks) and he just turned his back on her and ignored her! Can't win them all and I'll try for a few more days and see what happens but I feel it will be a fresh attempt with a new contender-

On the plus side my feeder chicks have started feathering up and I've some Lutino's to rehome for Christmas!- just a shame the exhibition pairs they should have been fostering went bad!

I've two fresh pinkies from the rick watts birds- so yes the cockbirds fertile! And I've three chicks under the ball pair which is like Christmas in its own rights- actually they have hatched four as I moved an egg in when she started throwing things around and its hatched- shame its from a foster and the same bloody colour- mind you it could be a spangle or an albino this time!

Other than that I'm in good spirits- I know that I have two more fertile cocks that are feeding well. I've chicks that aren't weaning well and that will be a worry until I move them around and I'll check crops tonight and I've still got three empty cages.

I need to get some gold chip and gold flake for later next week and ive plenty of seed now- so with a following wind we should be ok for a few weeks while I feed up the pairs and think about who's next in the flight:-)

Mission accomplished today.

So- the second pair of feeders hatched one of their own chicks today- a black eyed one rather than an albino- so given the second pair of Adams line birds are clear I popped it under the hen and she is feeding it as week speak- I often pop a dispensable chick under a hen that hasn't hatched these days just to check her maiden credentials and with luck to bring them both into the same cycle next round- well that's the theory, and we know I'm full of theories. The other theory is that all the other foster nests are out of sync with the lead pair (I don't care what people say we all have our favourites) and it would be nice to have some cover for the ball pair.

The spangle chick is still with is but to be honest needs to gain some weight to make it past Monday but we will see what happens- I like the style he has and I've the dad in the flight so I'm tempted- but I've also got better in the flight and its a question of so I breed a couple for the pet shop or for the next generation and I'm struggling to answer that one.

I also caught the Adams bred cockbird from allwood&Bird exherting some authority on a chick trying to make the perch so I moved the four on the cage floor intrigue weaning cage leaving just two to feather up in the nest- and the parents are mating already!- if only All birds bred and fed this well we'd have it cracked in a week!!!

I've still got three empty cages and I'm nervous abou using the next few hens as they are precious to me and at the moment this are going well after the internal layer fiasco. To be honest it couldn't be better (ok it could) but I've cocks bought in that have been fertile and filled eggs after four days, a pair I obtained from rick watts have now got chicks and I can't wait to use the cockbird on another hen- might just have a few yellowfaced grey hens in the flight from pair three that are ideal.

Oh well time will tell- and as always fingers crossed :-)

On the plus side is that I tried this year to get a good dominant pied and when I eventually go a good pied hen with sideways blow she turned out to be an internal layer- so I'm wasted to say that I've two pied hens nesting at the moment (both light greens)

One is European lt green pied hen with an allwood&bird spruce bred lt green cock and the other is a rick watts lt green pied hen and a SF grey cockbird both off of his Marchant line- I just needed to buy the cock to top up the line but the hen was just calling to my weakness and as she is sitting on two chicks and fertile eggs its halved my investment!

Oh and I manage to get some gold chip and gold flake today at my visit to Ian Fordham's, with luck he won't notice for a while ;-)

Another day passes and a little step forward- or rather I had my eldest for the night last night and dropped her back to mums today after she, her sister and I enjoyed a nice Italian and a mooch around the shops- ah the bliss of daughters not yet besotted by boys- apart from 1 Direction!

So a whistle stop today and I found a fresh chick in with the feeder pair so I popped it Into the pair of greys on clear eggs in 11- this makes two chicks and if all goes well I pop another in there soon so thy have three chicks to bring up. I've found that two together tend to end up with the hen sitting too tight (as is the case with a pair at the moment) and a case of slightly splayed legs but I've not got any split rings to get them together and it will be a pet bird so I'm happy with that.

It also means I've now got another 4 Lutino's to rehome in four weeks and a couple of pets for seed money. But on the upside I've had another bird hatch in 15 so that's good news and it makes 6 exhibition birds that will end up being the last of the '13 rings.

I've a second egg in the Sykes/spruce pairing so that's something I'm excited about and the hen he was with before has been digging around in the box with a less agreasive cock so that could be a Marchant/spruce combination and half brothers and sisters to the yellowface chicks that have drawn a crowd and that would be good trying to start a family to take me forward.

But- I've a couple of pairs to put down and I keep looking at a couple of hens I have with a nervous gaze as one I bought in from Daren snell and the other is one I bred and is 8-9 moths old and I'm very tempted..... But I'd be buggered if either fell off the perch!!!

Oh well decisions decisions !

I'm still ooing and erring at the moment but then again I've had a fractured day- every time I got some man 'downtime' the phone rang! So I didn't actually manage to get any more pairs down but I did spot an opaline grey hen making out with a grey green in the flight- trouble is I've got 6 of each! But it could Be an ideal match as the hen is ball bred and in the flight I've another grey green that I bred myself that is ball/Marchant and it might just be the ticket As in her first round the young cock trashed the nest- so perhaps another might just do the business.

I've also got a one of these blasted spangle hens that's just finishing off raising her first round after the cock scalped a chick in the cage and I've to find a mate for her as well as a yellowface grey hen I bred and an opaline cinnamon light green hen from Daren snell that I've been drawling over for the last six months.

So while I was watching all the fine neuances I had a call asking me to reserve a bird- now that's unusual, in fact its a first and I'm delighted to help someone if I can- it all goes around in the end.

I'm still mulling over trying to get a slate for all of the DF greys and I've identified a feature that I want to bring in next year- I know that sounds a but preposterous but I do like to think ahead- and spend just once- and I'm hopin that I continue to get the odd round off the ball birds until I get volume and then I need to be able

To stamp my style on them from the rest of the jigsaw I've been compiling..

But that's a story for another day.

I answered a call today- no not the calling to the cloth, I was asked to go along and help someone plan their Avery conversion which is nice and although I didn't actually follow any of my own advice I gave a sermon on the art of thrift and of sizing your birds to your free time rather than super sizing something that you can't manage later- so my top tip for the day was to ring the local kitchen installers and scavenge some wall cabinets to act as base units and to build half flights on top- well see how this develop's

So back to the task in hand. I'm still not sure what to pair next but what I do know is that I've a hen making out with a greygreen cockbird and I've a couple of better greygreens in the flight- one of which I bred myself and its a ball/Marchant hybrid and his Iris is bright and he is chasing a few of the others around but he is just six months so I'm not sure but I do like the fact that he is starting to fill out so perhaps he will do the business. Or I could use his dad who is a more conservative character and not so head strong- some of his chicks are starting to look good in the flight and he is down a little on spot size but the opaline grey hen may be just the ticket to sort that out.

I've also a couple more pinkies today- both of which are now placed under the clear hen in 11 who is clear but seems to be feeding well- one pinkie came from the feeders in 16 via cage 8 and one was from the rick watts pair- but here as I expect more chicks I took the eldest away rather than crowd the nest- that way the best chick which is also the eldest gets the best food and grows better- well that's the theory.

So there we are- i have feeders on nests of 2 and 3 of which a few are Lutino's and one looks to be grey- which means it may be from cage 1 and when it gets a little but bigger it should stand out like a sore thumb. I've a pair of Adams bred birds being used as feeders to get them in sync and they are now on 4 chicks.

I've still got 2 under the Adams pair in 9 to fledge but I think a new round is not far away, I've the spangles that are fledged and almost feeding themselves and I have to think of a cock for her- the colour for the pet shop verses the greygreen stock bird debate will carry on in the corners of my mind.

The pied in 1 has fertile eggs as does the dilute and if they hatch this week it means some half brothers on both the mum and the dads side which would be very good indeed- well for me anyway!

But I must be mentally preparing as tonight I oj the cage floor covering into the three empty cages, cleaned out the feeders and broke out the new finger draws so something must be in the air- I just hope its a full moon in the next few days.

So there we go, I've had a clean up and scratched my head and I've also reread my notes from last year and reverted to how I was using some probiotic to see if it helps avoid clear eggs or just to raise condition. I forgot to do the soaked millet so I fed some sweetcorn and mixed veg to try and bring the birds on in the flight and also to provide some softfood for the feeding pairs- ill pop some raw beetroot in tomorrow and have a final sown selection of the cockbirds for the opaline hen- the grey chick in 7 could be her's so I may even pick something to just give me some half siblings for something I like In the flight.

Oh well tomorrow is another day:-)

Well its been one of those quiet days today- I rang a chick which is always a sign of things moving along and I've had a count up and I think I have 11 chicks coming along and 13 rings left! I just hope we only hatch a few more as Sod's law says ill not ring the best one!

I still haven't paired up anything but its coming- I suspect it will be tomorrow as I've moved the sawdust and the cleaned feeders into the manshed. Full moon is the 17th but that's too late on the cycle so ill have to step up.

The chicks I'm weaning at the moment are a mixed bunch- I've bred some very feathery spangles that look like cock birds when I wanted some stock hens and the hens that have come from it look very typey with good shoulders but not enough above the eye. Oh well let's wait and see what happens as a couple were clouted when they left the nest and the weaning transition hasnt been the easiest for them and I'll know just as soon as they put on some weight.

Mind you I could always pair their mum to another spangle and go for some DF blue and green out of the same nest- who knows, it will all come clear in the end.

Well what can I say apart from a thank you for a little human kindness. A short while ago I commented about having some key hens that were internal layers and that it would cause a hole in the breeding plan- in fact a major hole as genetically they were key:

So imagine my surprise when I was approached on facebook by Nigel Darley who offered me some part lutolf hens ready for breeding from his reserve team. So, off I popped today to see what's what and I came away with two sisters (a opaline cinnamon dark green, a cinnamon sky blue) and another related lutolf bred hen and her uncle! Now that's human kindness and a big thank you.

Actually I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to solid stock birds and Nigel has some real crackers and two huge baby flights of very useful fagan and hind bred youngsters- so if your after something please do contact Nigel and send my regards. I didn't take any away as I'm trying to consentrate on my ball line and these were ideal otherwise I'd never know where the whoppers popped up from!

But they are nice solid stock hens- 3 Oz budgies and I can't wait to get the right cockbirds to them to use their frames and genes to unlock some potential- so today I'm a happy bunny.

I'm also a lucky bunny as I've two more pinkies! The first was under the ball pair and is from a foster hens eggs- shame its not a red eye- and I placed it under the clear grey pair in 11 and I also found another chick under the watts pair and I left it there- she now has 4 chicks although she has hatched 5 with the 5 th being the eldest and under the pair in 11 as well.

I also found an egg under the pair in 10 which is the Adams bred pair which makes this the start of the 3rd round, I can't complain at their fertility or temperament and although they have two still in the nest and assuming they wean ok it makes 13 from two rounds! I'd just like a few more sky blues to play with but I'm sure it will come.

I've also seen the last of the spangles chicks feeding so tomorrow they can be weaned just as soon as I'm back from the dentists! The question that I have to answer is that their mum has finished raising them after the cock bird attacked but hasn't started to excavate the. Eat for a second round- so I may move her out as I have other feeders and put a better pair in there or I could just find a other cock and throw it into the mix?

What I have noticed (and full credit to Eric on this one) is the amount of moisture that is contained in the sawdust now that the hens are sitting tighter in the cold, or the cocks are keeping them company- but the condensation has to go somewhere and although I have large well vented boxes it is VERY important to understand that a moist bird leaving the nest gets cold in the same way that heat is lost into water- so when you have the chance try and replace the moist lower layer with a fresh dry one and you may just save a bird here an there as the cold snap starts- both on and in the nest as well as when the cockbirds down gets cold when he is off feeding.

Oh- and my eyes are shot- the chick in 15 was supposed to be a lutino but it is in fact a greygreen spangle pied- oh well just 3 ino's this round! Still- it pays for the seed!!!

So there we are a whistle stop tour- I've put a hen and her uncle in 3 from Nigel to see what happens and I'll think about what's next but I have three cages spare if I take out the spangle hen and I've four hens- I just need to take a couple of hours and decide if I go for broke with a 7 month old cock or wait a little longer an see if he starts to chase the girls, or I could go for colour and put a sky blue cock to a dark green and see if I can get some cobalts- but let's just get some small steps done first!

I'm sure tomorrow will let me know what to do, after all I have a hen Of mine I really like and consulting the records in bed I found out she was 5 months old! No wonder the missus is threatening to move the bed in there!

Sure as eggs are eggs.....

So we're battening down the hatches expecting a flood of biblical proportions and the rain is at 45 degrees but I'll not be giving in that easy and I spent some time in the manshed after the dentists and the plumber.

What can I say- you don't often get something for nothing and today I did- I put two of the new hens in with the babies and this afternoon one of them laid an egg and so I warmed it up and popped it under the hen in 4- who knows what will happen to it but I think the hen in 4 only has one fertile egg so I'll have to manage thatnisntnin later- I have a policy of moving single fertile eggs or making up a couple more in the clutch as the hens can get bored and destroy the nest just when the fertile egg is due to hatch.

So today I made up five pairs! Not bad for a guy with only three cages spare-so I checked that the fledged chicks were feeding ok and as the hen hadn't started using the box again I put her back in the flight and the chicks in the weaning cage. I also broke up a pair that aren't going to do anything- I have a suspicion that the hen was well used prior to her arrival/gift and that nothing is going to happen with her- so ill use her towards the end of the season when I have some space and the time to feed her up and pay propper attention to her.

So two hens and one cock go into the flight and I cement the strategy of using the best of my Marchant birds together and the ball birds and then using the other birds around the edges to make my own outcrosses or just for some luck and the odd surprise.

So some new pairs and here goes:

Pair 19- cage 3

A cinnamon lt green hen and a greygreen cock from Nigel- they are niece and uncle and from Nigel's European line so I hope that they can pop out some good stock birds. I did check that the cock is a SF greygreen and both birds are split for blue.

Pair 20- cage 6

This is the opaline cinnamon dark green hen that I believe has laid an egg in the flight cage and I've paired her up to the ball grey cock- I'm hoping that I'll get some split birds that I can out into the family as his aunt has had chicks with 3 different cocks (including him) and as I tried him earlier I know he can fill an egg- just can't resist worrying the hen off them and breaking them- I'm hoping that if I keep on he will change his ways.

Pair 21 cage 12

Opaline grey hen from Jim Laurie and my foundation greygreen Marchant cock. The thoughts here is that he is a good breeding cock and she laid earlier but messed around in the cage with the ball do I so I fostered out the eggs and popped her back in the flight. I've seen her trying to mate with a lessor greygreen cock and the cockbird I've used has bred with a ball hen earlier in the season and so I've some ball/Marchant chicks that are maturing ok. I also need her to have a happy round so once they progress I may just change the. I I next time for something with some European blood in it.

Pair 22: cage 18

Sky cinnamon hen from Nigel and a cinnamon grey cock from darren snell. Both of these birds have European genes and the hen is longer in the body compared to the cock but I really need him at 8 months to start doing the business and then I can move him Onto another hen if I don't like the result but- and here is the butt- the ball cock is with her sister and the snell cinnamon grey cock is half ball so. Tossing over the chicks should be fun!

And finally

Pair 23: cage 17

Opaline cinnamon lt green hen from darren snell that is split ball to a cockbird I bred myself that is also split ball- so the theory here is quite clear but he is vey young but starting to chase birds a around the flight and looks to be maturing- I guess I the first is clear the second round shouldn't be but it is good to use one of your own!

So a busy day. But the strategy for this year remains the same- to breed myself some good hens.

I've the Marchant birds I bred earlier in the year coming on line in the next month- the initial ones are from pair three (the yellowfaces) will be 7 months but not upto scratch so I may use them into a spruce bred. Ok bird to see what is thrown up, in march the next wave of marchent hens become availiBke And they are looking good and will go Ito the other cocks chicks, sounds easy on paper doesn't it!

On the ball line I'm just working the birds as hard as I can and get some common genes going to use as a springboard- Its always difficult ult to start a family with one hen but I'm giving it a go.

Oh and if the dark green hen is a good mum and the sky cock fills eggs I fancy them to produce some cobalts at some stage later in the season.

Oh well- just have to wait and see what happens in the next two weeks and this cold snap!!!

Roll on the rings I've only a few left!!!

Well today started well-'I have a new pinkie which is always good news but this one could be special- its from what we call two 'well bred' birds. The first was a bird that came my way after a long trip- she is a Dutch bird but her parents were English and although not the prettiest girl she has high shoulders but needs some backskull and blow- the cockbird is a first generation spruce bred cock that I've borrowed as a thank you and it should mean I have some anglodutch chicks to either put into my English or European line- time will tell, its just difficult to get a good pied line working and so I hope this could be the star to something good as in the cage opposite I've some Marchant bred birds bringing up a clutch where the mum is pied and the dad a SF grey- so with luck two bites of the cherry after the original hen I bought for the pied quest turned into an internal layer! Oh well I guess now its hatched I'll have to call it Mandela ?

I got to ring some chicks 98-99-100! From my ball line and I also got to get on my hands and knees to rummage through the lost corners of the manshed for the rings I lost earlier in the season when I had plenty and behind/under a block of cages I've been using as a worktop and ringing table I found another ten- now that's a sigh of relief!

I have candled the eggs in 4 and I have some fertile- this is good news as its the spruce bred cock (father of the yellowfaces) and a Kevin Sykes hen (a gift from Mr Shep) she is long feathered and very well shouldered so its fingers crossed- actually its quite exciting

The five pairs I have put down have three that have been casting an eye in the box and 4 of the cocks have ball blood in them and the one that doesn't has a ball bred hen- so if this luck continues and I get a dozen chicks between them ill be like a pig in the brown stuff

So its a long run into the weekend when I have a hatchling due from a Marchant cock to a wilson bred dilute hen- this would give me half brothers and sisters for rat bird and that's very exciting

Easily pleased me :-)

Happy happy day today.

I'm a very simple person and today I have a new pinkie. I'll explain.....

When I first started I had a little luck when Gary Shep sent down a dilute hen amongst some barheads to make some noise- this critical mass started the ball rolling and I put the hen to my best cockbird and out popped two crackers, the. Ok bird was a little chesty and had to be taken away so I only got one round with him. I moved him onto a hen and was dissappointed with the results and the next cockbird with the dilute didn't throw what I wanted either- shame really as he was a Marchant cockbird too!

So I'm delighted that today she hatched a chick with another Marchant cockbird- now, this boy is very wide across the shoulders and if he was a hen would be an ideal date for the other cockbird- so with luck it will become a Half brother to the split dilutes I've bred and away we go to joyville.

Other than that its at the normality stage at the moment with chicks chipping away and waiting for the postman. The pairs I put together have started to use the box and we will see tomorrow which I the young hens laid the egg as there should be another- although I suspect it will be infertile at this stage.

On the plus point the birds still in the flight are bouncing fit and if I had the space id be able to make a nice pair to generate some DFS but alas they will have to wait until the new year.

But as always exciting times- both pied hens have chicks, my dilute line is still laying the foundations and I've a couple of chicks from the mike ball hen still being fed- so its a happy day-

So happy in fact that I gave the birds some raw beetroot today to bring them on a little in the flight and with luck and a following wind ill get some of the new hens to perform and the young cocks to step upto the plate.

As always I'm excited, nervous and apprehensive all at the same time.

Mind you I'll have to have a clear out soon to make space for the new chicks- I can hear the call of the pet shop sounding loud and proud!

A strange old day today in terms of budgie management. Both of my pied hens hatched a new chick which makes 2 in the pair in cage 1 which is good news as she is European and he is spruce bred. The other pair are the rick watts Marchant bred pair which I've already fostered the eldest out to make space and she then went on to hatch 2 more- I moved them to the dilute nest whom has one chick but the youngest was jut too weak and I lost him later in the day :-( i know it happens but I shouldn't complain when they have hatched another six!

I thought I'd ask some rhetorical questions today to get some propper old fashioned debate going- ok I started three threads- but I must say some excellent contributions from Mick F and Dean, so if you have time have a read.

I was having a look at the spangle chicks today- four spangles and two normals. I put the pairs together in the first place to try and get some better bodied birds with a softer feather from the longer framed hens- but pretty enough for the pet shop!

A couple of the hens look very handy- not winners but solid lumps- but a couple of the cocks really do have some feather length but a slimmer frame from the Marchant/spruce cocks so to my mind they are the ones I'll let go as I have better cocks in the flight- shame really as they have exceptional backskull- that's the way it goes I guess!

The remit this year is going to have to be 'if its a handful it stays' as I need to work hard to bring up the frame size. I have managed over my travels to get a couple of longer birds but I need to put feather and blow onto these. The good news is that now I'm starting to get to know how the birds are working and I'll need to keep back a couple of sisters so I can pair the best birds back over next year.

Talking of which I believe I've got 4 chicks in total from this round that are ball bred so I am like a very expectant parent at the moment hoping that they will make it to weaning in three weeks- especially as one of the hens tends to attack chicks and typically I've got no other chicks the same age to move them into!

But with luck I'll have a few more as all of the next five pairs have at least one parent that's ball bred- the only exception are a cock that I've bred that's half ball and a cock from darren snell that's half ball- and they are paired to two sisters- so with luck something may happen there by Christmas and that would be nice! And if you know mikes birds then if breeding counts they won't be small!

Mind you I can take a show winner and turn it into a Joey within a generation so ill just wait and see what happens. But I'm looking forward to the coming season and the different phases- at the moment its ball and a little Marchant, in feb it will be all Marchant and spruce/Marchant pairings.

So there we are I've added everything up and I've 20 chicks coming through and about 7 rings left! I may have to put some very old rings on them so I can find them in the flight- I'm not too worried as I doubt I'll be showing these ones.

I've also got some fertile eggs waiting to hatch- some still to go in cage 1 and I've a couple fertile in cage 4 which is a key pair- but the 17th will be the exciting date for that pair!

What's the betting that I finally get some pied hens to breed and their all normals!

Well.....

Country to popular belief sometimes I have some luck and today I noticed that the eldest of the pied chicks is a trying to feather up as a dominant pied- this is from a Marchant bred pair so I hope all goes to plan- she has four in the nest and two fostered out so its fingers crossed.

The other pied pair have hatched a third chick- the parents are europeN and a spruce bred cockbird so with luck the chicks should cross over well and with luck the bigger frame with the Marchant feather and the spruce blow would be the goal- but I'll take healthy chicks anytime!

I had a bit of a 10pm shuffle last night as I noticed the night light wasn't working- turns out the pigmy bulb had blown and although I had a clear to pop in its place I can't buy any locally- in fact CEF tell me 25w pigmy bulbs are no longer made in colours and you have to buy clear and tiny them yourself!!! Honestly what is the world coming to!

Mind you I'm upping the feeding at the moment by adding some sweetcorn and frozen chopped veggies most days (defrost in hot water while your having the morning coffee!) and at less than a pound a kilo its not bad value. This is on top of the sprig of soaked millet and finger draw of tonic seed with a couple of drops of probiotic every other day. The net result is that some hens that have been hard work last year actually recognise the sound of spoon on Pyrex and come out of the box in anticipation of something good to feed the chicks- and that's a sigh of relief as last year it was plain seed only!

Other than that I'm waiting for the new pairings to do something more than just excavate the box an I keep looking in the flight for the next pairings- I just need a half dozen more cages and I'd be happy. Mins you this time last year I didn't have any birds and by the end of this year I'd have bred 100! That's not bad for 10 active cages!

Oh well I know these are the halcyon days and as the birds improve it will be tougher- and that's good as I'd settle for 50 of double the quality any day- cheaper on seed too!!!!

Ho hum- few chores at the batchelor pad tomorrow and 6 to the pet shop by the end of the week.

It had to happen at some stage we have an egg- now I would have thiugjt it was from the dark green that laid in the baby cage four days ago but she hasn't done anything except excavate the box- its from the Jim Laurie opaline grey hen and the H&M greygreen cockbird. Its a bit too soon for me to think its fertile but as she came from the flight where we have a mixed sex group you never know! Apart from the fact her suited in the flight was also a greygreen!

To be honest anything would be good and by the time she hatched and reared if know which of the other cocks was fertile and the second round could be better, but small steps first

Other than that I've rung another chick and I've four rings left! The only option will be to use rings fr

Birds no longer with me- which releases a couple more but feels morbid!

Other than that its getting interesting in the flight with cocks and hens throwing their weight around. In fact I could fill three or four more cages with some new pairings I like the look of but as always by the time a cage comes free ill hangs my mind.

Oh well- a nice problem to have!

Just a very brief update:

Its all systems go synths moment and today I've a on my face, although I'm sure not wont last long! I've rung a chick with the last of my rings and I'm starting to use a few spare I've got while I wait for the BS ones to turn up in the post.

I've fot a couple of pieds coming along from the pairs in 1 and 15, which I've high hopes for. I've some red eyed chicks that ill rehome in four weeks or so and ive a while raft of greys coming through which includes 4 from my combined ball birds and all related. I've a couple hatched under the spangle and I've even got 3 from the dilute hen and all of these have just been rung and are the swansong of 2013.

But what's really made me is that 3 of the 5 pairs I put together have now laid and the final 2 are looking good, although the cocks are younger- and all of these are part ball, in all reality in just building the line but....

These could be the chicks that will be 2014 rung and the springboard I need to take me forward. And although my stock book has gone walkies, that's the reason I'm smiling.

On the downside I think the eggs from my Sykes hen are all clear and the third round of the Adams pair look that way too (the final two chicks didn't leave home until egg 4) but hey ho, the odd knock back just humbles you a little and makes you work harder!